Correction, July 28, 2026 1:16 pm: The article was updated to correct information about the Town of Estes Park ending the revenue-sharing agreement that has provided the Estes Valley Fire Protection District. While this matter has been discussed, no decision has been made at this time.
Within an hour of being sworn in as chief of the Estes Valley Fire Protection District, Kevin Nunn took his seat at the board table for his first meeting in his new role. Minutes later, the board took the first formal step toward asking voters to approve a new sales tax to fund the district.
The Estes Valley Fire Protection District board voted Monday to call a special election on Nov. 3, 2026, beginning the process of placing a sales tax measure before voters.
The action comes as the Town of Estes Park is considering whether to end the revenue-sharing agreement that has provided the Estes Valley Fire Protection District with 7 percent of the town’s sales tax collections — about $1.3 million annually — since voters approved the creation of the independent fire district in 2009. No final decision has been made.
Instead, the town plans to use those revenues to help pay for a new public safety center, a project estimated to cost more than $30 million.
Because the fire district is a separate local government, it must now establish a long-term funding source to replace the town sales tax revenue.
The board has not yet approved final ballot language but is expected to consider asking voters to authorize a 0.5 percent sales tax at its Aug. 24 meeting. During Monday’s discussion, the board approved only the resolution necessary to call the Nov. 3 special election and appoint an election official. The final ballot language will be considered separately.
Board members also approved the district’s 2025 audit, subject to revisions clarifying language related to a technical state budget law issue involving the transfer of the volunteer pension program to the Fire and Police Pension Association. Auditor Steve Dazio told the board the audit received “a clean opinion,” also known as an unqualified opinion, on the district’s financial statements.
The board approved a $36,000 local match for a Larimer County Office of Emergency Management wildfire mitigation grant and awarded a fixed-price contract of $3,000 per acre for mitigation work on an additional 180 acres in the Thunder Mountain area.
Justin Kearney, division chief of operations and training, reported that the Fire Academy begins next week with 11 recruits from several communities.
Nathan Meulener, volunteer captain, reported that from January through June, the district responded to 26 percent more calls than during the same period last year, with much of the increase attributed to illegal burns and smoke investigations.
Through a partnership with the American Red Cross, the district’s auxiliary also installed five smoke alarms in 13 homes.
Board President Sandi Smith and Jon Landkamer, division chief of community risk reduction, also recognized Logan Lasley for his work with the district’s wildfire risk reduction program. Lasley, who joined the district in 2023 as wildfire risk reduction education specialist, is leaving to accept a position in Minnesota.
To signal that he has handed over the department to Nunn, Warren Jones, who has served as the interim chief since October, attended the meeting dressed in civilian clothes rather than the EVFPD uniform. Jones wore his dress blue uniform during the swearing-in ceremony but changed clothes and sat in the public seating area of the conference room.
The district’s members will gather next Tuesday for their monthly family dinner and annual group photograph. The next meeting of the Estes Valley Fire Protection District Board of Directors is scheduled for Aug. 24 at 4:30 p.m.